GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University football team returns to the road this weekend as the Sons of Davy Crockett travel to Salisbury, North Carolina to face the Catawba Indians in a South Atlantic Conference match-up. Kickoff is set for Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. from Shuford Stadium.
The Pioneers (4-4, 2-3 SAC) have been victorious in their last two outings, including last week's 41-17 homecoming win over Barton College. Cortney Jackson rushed for a career-high 108 yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Ivan Corbin accounted for four scores (3 pass, 1 rush).
The Catawba Indians (4-2, 1-2 SAC) dropped its second straight game with a 31-14 setback at Mars Hill.
After suffering three straight losses at the hands of Newberry, Wingate and Lenoir-Rhyne, all by a score or less, TU has responded with back-to-back victories over UVA Wise and Barton. In the win over Barton, Tusculum shut down the nation's second-leading rusher in Jordan Terrell, holding him to 37 yards (140 under his seasonal average).
Catawba opened its 2021 season with three straight home victories over Erskine, Winston-Salem and Barton before having its first two SAC games with Wingate and Limestone canceled due to COVID. The Indians returned to play and won 33-27 over Carson-Newman before dropping its last two contests to Newberry and Mars Hill.
THE SERIES
The 25th renewal of one of the more entertaining football rivalries in the SAC takes place this week as the Tusculum Pioneers travel to the Catawba Indians.
Twelve of the last 20 encounters between Tusculum and Catawba have been decided by 10 points or less. In the 24 previous meetings, 11 have been decided by a single possession, including five by three points or fewer.
Catawba leads the all-time series 16-8 and has won six of the last nine encounters. Tusculum's first game against a nationally-ranked NCAA Division II opponent was No. 7 Catawba in 1997. TU's first win over a nationally-ranked DII foe was Catawba the following year as the Pioneers upset the Catawba Indians 23-21 at Shuford Stadium. In fact, three of TU's 13 wins against nationally-ranked teams have been against Catawba in 1998, 2004 and 2007. That 2004 win came during TU's homecoming.
Catawba won the first two meetings in 1996 and 1997, before TU posted the 1998 upset in Salisbury. The Indians followed with five straight victories from 1999-2003. TU won three of the next four meetings from 2004-2007 and Catawba followed with back-to-back wins in 2008 and 2009.
Tusculum and Catawba met on the gridiron every season from 1996-2019 with the string ending at 24 in a row when the two did not meet last year the COVID abbreviated spring campaign.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Tusculum will be looking to get above the .500 mark for the first time since Sep. 18 when the Pioneers were 2-1 after their SAC opening win over Limestone.
Tusculum continues to be listed among the national offensive leaders statistically in scoring, total offense and passing. TU is second in the SAC in scoring offense averaging 35.4 points per game (26th in NCAA II) and have scored 30 or more in each of its last four games.
TU is third in total offense (410.6 – 43rd in NCAA II), fourth in the league in passing offense (250.6 ypg – 40th in NCAA II) and third in passing yards per completion (14.02 ypc – 35th in NCAA II).
The Pioneers have stepped up its rushing attack of late, averaging 195.5 ground yards per game over the past two week's including Saturday's 232-yard effort against Barton. On the year, Tusculum is averaging 160 rushing yards per game (6th in SAC).
Defensively, the Pioneers are fourth in the league in total defense (305.8 ypg – 32nd in NCAA II) and second in passing defense (184.2 ypg – 36th in NCAA II). TU is second in the SAC with 15 turnovers gained (43rd in NCAA II) including four resulting in defensive scores (1st in SAC / 4th in NCAA II).
Offensively, Corbin leads the charge where is he averaging a SAC-best 272.2 total offensive yards per game (25th in NCAA II). He has passed for 1,916 yards and 14 touchdowns against six interceptions. His 239.5 passing yards per game average are fourth in the SAC and 29th in the country. He has passed for 4,314 yards and 36 touchdowns in his collegiate career, including his first two years at Limestone.
Junior Justice Parham leads the team with 36 receptions for 603 yards (4th in SAC / 48th in NCAA II) and six touchdowns (4th in SAC / 45th in NCAA II). He is averaging 16.8 yards per catch and has made a reception in all 13 of his games at Tusculum.
Senior Derrick Wright was held without a catch last week and is second on the squad with 21 receptions for 287 yards and two touchdowns. Two weeks ago, he had 141 yards on eight receptions including a 68-yard TD.
Senior Will Sweeper returns to Salisbury for the first time as a Pioneer. Sweeper played the 2018 and 2019 seasons at Catawba where he made 28 receptions for 634 yards and six touchdowns. In 2018, he earned All-SAC second team honors as a receiver for the Catawba Indians. This year, he has made 10 grabs for 78 yards and a touchdown.
Sophomore Will Shellenback has earned the start at tight end for all eight games this year where he has made six catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Bryce Moore has posted five receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for a pair of scores.
Junior running back Cortney Jackson is averaging 6.7 yards per carry and has totaled 427 yards on 64 attempts including seven touchdowns (2nd in SAC / 31st in NCAA II). He posted a career-best 82-yard TD run at Lenoir-Rhyne, which is the fifth-longest in program history.
Senior Maurice Gomillion is third on the team in both rushing and receiving. He has 253 rushing yards on 60 carries and a TD. He has also made 16 receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown catch. Gomillion needs 63 rushing yards to eclipse 1,000 for his career and become the 13th Pioneer to join that elite group. Corbin is second on the team in rushing with 262 yards and four touchdowns.
Sophomore defensive back Jermaine Witherspoon is the team's leading tackler with 47 stops. Witherspoon has also forced a fumble, posted an interception and has four pass break-ups to his credit.
Free safety John Smith is tied for second on the team with 41 tackles, including three for loss and two passes defended.
Senior Raynell Killian also has 41 tackles including five for loss, one sack, an interception, two pass break-ups and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Junior cornerback Ty'Korian Brown rounds out the trio with 41 stops including three behind the line of scrimmage. He has also made an interception with five pass break-ups.
Senior linebacker Jahaud Russ has made 35 tackles with five for loss, returned a fumble for a touchdown and leads the team with four QB hurries.
Senior linebacker Craig Watts also has 35 tackles with four going for loss and three quarterback hurries.
Junior defensive end Nelson Louis has made 27 stops including a team-best eight for loss (6th in SAC) and a SAC-leading seven sacks (13th in NCAA II). He enters this week's action with 20 career sacks to his credit, which are the second-most in program history. He is four sacks off the pace set by TU great Tracy Branner (24 from 1997-2000).
Senior nose guard Quaheim Glasgow has posted 24 tackles with five for loss and leads the SAC with two fumble recoveries (7th in NCAA II), including one he returned for a 20-yard touchdown in the season-opener at St. Augustine's.
On special teams, senior punter Andrew Cantrell leads the way for the Pioneers. Cantrell will be playing in his 34th consecutive game and is averaging 39.3 yards per punt which is the fourth-best average in the SAC and 39th in the nation. Of his 37 punts, 16 have resulted in fair catches including nine inside the 20-yardline. His 49 career punts inside the 20 are the fourth most by a Pioneer.
Eli Shepherd and John Aiden Pittman have been manning the placekicking duties for the Pioneers. Shepherd is third on the team in scoring with 26 points on his four field goals and 14 extra points. He enters this week's game with 99 career points and needs one more to become the sixth kicker in school history to eclipse the century mark.
Pittman is 16-of-18 on extra points and has made two of his four field goal attempts including a 31-yarder vs UVA Wise.
Tusculum kickoff teams are ranked are ranked nationally, both offensively and defensively. TU's kickoff teams are averaging 22.4 yards per return (3rd in SAC / 36th in NCAA II) as Jarvis Jones is averaging 25.9 yards per return including his school-record 100-yarder at Wingate earlier this month. Tusculum's kickoff coverage team is allowing 16.7 yards per return (3rd in SAC / 39th in NCAA II).
FOLLOW THE GAME
The radio call of the game will be available locally on WSMG Radio on 95.5 FM and 1450 AM, as well as online at https://jewel955.com/listenlive. The "Voice of the Pioneers" Brian Stayton and Joe Byrd will describe all the action. The Pioneer Pre-Game Show begins at 12 p.m. (ET). Stayton is in his 25th season as the broadcast voice of Tusculum University Athletics.
Catawba College will also provide a video stream of Saturday's contest and those links will be available at www.TusculumPioneers.com and on SAC Live (SAC Digital Network). The Catawba telecast will also be on DirecTV Channel 623.
